This opinion responds to requests for our views on the applicability of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units, 79 Fed. Reg. 1430 (Jan. 8, 2014) (the proposed Greenhouse Gas rule). After discussion with congressional staff, we agreed to answer three questions: (1) what is GAO's role under CRA and what type of agency action triggers that role; (2) what role does GAO play under CRA with regard to a proposed rule; and (3) do prior GAO opinions under CRA examining final agency actions outside of the rulemaking process provide precedent in answering these questions. In our opinion we concluded that under CRA's statutory scheme, GAO's role is not triggered by the issuance of proposed rules. GAO's role under CRA is to receive all rules submitted by executive branch agencies and issue reports to Congress on the major rules received. Proposed rules, whether major or nonmajor, are not submitted to GAO. The present situation is unlike the facts in prior GAO opinions examining agency actions that GAO determined were rules for purposes of CRA. In those opinions, the agency actions were final actions with certain and binding effect.
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